The Prince and Me
by DreamOutLoud16
Summary: Prince Zuko is bitter and cynical and destroyed. Mai is just a new student who likes to sing. Somehow Mai finds herself in a predicament where she is getting paid to date the vicious fire prince, but Mai isn't sweating it, Zuko hates her...there is no way he'd go on a date with her...right?
1. Chapter 1

Mai sat quietly in the back seat of her father's car doing nothing but looking out at the unfamiliar place she was now forced to call home. It was quite bigger than her old town and it obviously had way more people. Mai's old home was nice too, but it was small and friendly. Mai sighed as she looked away from the window. Sitting next her was Tom-Tom, her two year old little brother, he was sound asleep. Poor child was probably all worn out from crying for a whole hour. '_Even Tom-Tom knows that this move is going to suck.' _Mai thought bitterly. She couldn't believe her father was making her move away from the only place she's ever known just so he can be closer to his work place. Sure Mai wasn't popular in her old school, in fact, she only had one friend. Poor Ty-Lee would be lonely also, considering the fact that Mai was her only bestfriend. Mai also thought of her ex-boyfriend, Jet. They'd just broken up a week ago, but it wasn't because of her family's relocation, it was because of the fact that he was a player that Mai thought she could change; boy was she wrong because it turns out he was cheating on her for about a month. That was the only bright side of her move to RepublicCity; she'd never have to see Jet again. The pain was still there, but just not being able to see his asshole face made Mai a little happy inside. Mai felt the car slow down and turn and heard her mother's annoying high-pitched voice say:

"Here we are everyone; our new home!"

Mai took one look at the house and had the urge to smile which she forcefully held back. The house was bigger than her old house and was a beautiful shade of kaki or tan, parts of it were made up of stone. It was adorned with beautiful trees and plants in front of it and the windows were so clean it looked like you could just walk through them. The house looked absolutely beautiful especially with the glow of the evening sunset. The family got out of the car. Mai un-buckled the sleeping Tom-Tom and started towards the house with her the two year old in her arms. When they were finally at the front steps, Mai's dad opened the door and they all stepped in. The political family were surprised to see that there furniture was already neatly in place.

"Wow the moving van guys did all of this in one day?" Mai's mom asked.

"Well I did pay them to, but I didn't think they'd do such a good job, now those are hard-working boys." Mai's father said in satisfactory. Mai's mother went to go see the kitchen as her father turned to her.

"Well Mai," he said gesturing to the house "What do you think of it?"

"It's nice." Mai said nonchalantly. She saw her father's face fall. Mai couldn't let him know that she was a little bit satisfied with this move or else he'll miss the point that he took her from her old life.

"Look, I'm going to take Tom-Tom up stairs and get him ready for bed." Mai said before walking past him.

"Wait," Mai's father said. His voice was less pleading, but more demanding "I want to show you something."

'_Geez old man, give it a rest.'_ Mai thought, but instead of saying it out loud she followed him out of the living room then into the dining room which was where her mother was admiring the features then to the kitchen. The kitchen was beautiful, but what caught Mai's eye was the glass door that gave her a perfect view of the back yard. Mai opened the door and stepped into the backyard. It was huge and Mai imagined herself teaching a knife throwing class out here. What got her the most excited was the blue sparkling water of the regular sized pool. Suddenly Mai realized that she was grinning from ear to ear and her father was looking satisfied with himself. Mai stopped smiling instantly.

"The house is beautiful father, but you don't understand the fact that this will never be home." Mai said looking away from the pool.

"Mai this is your home now and you should get used to it. I know you'll miss Ty Lee, but I'm sure you'll make all knew friends."

Mai knew that getting into an argument with her father was not a good idea; it was always his way or no way. Why were politicians so stubborn? Ever since Mai was a little girl she was always told to behave and that her parents were always right. She knew it would be stupid to keep up this attitude for it was already wearing her out.

"Whatever," Mai mumbled before turning around to go back in the house. Suddenly she heard a car park in the front of her house. Mai being curious followed her father to the front yard. When they got there they saw Mai's uncle step out of his car and walk towards them. The last time Mai saw her uncle was last Christmas when they visited his house. Her uncle had 2 children who were already off to college so it was just him and his wife.

"Hello brother," he said shaking Mai's fathers' hand. He turned to Mai and smiled "And Mai, you've grown so much since the last time I saw you."

Mai gave him a fake smile considering the fact that he told her this every time he saw her. Her uncle's eyes turned their attention on Tom-Tom who had just woken up and had his head on Mai's shoulder. The two year old just looked at his uncle with blank eyes.

"Hello there Tom-Tom, I see you've grown quite a bit also." Mai's uncle said. Tom-Tom just buried his face in the crook of Mai's neck.

"He is tired after a long car ride and it's almost time for him to get to bed." Mai said smoothing out her brother's hair. "So uncle, I see you've got a new car."

Her uncle and her father smiled at each other which made Mai slightly uncomfortable.

"Actually Mai," her uncle said "This car belongs to you."

Mai searched his face to see if he was messing with her, but when she turned to her father he just nodded. Mai instantly dropped her starchy act and gave her father a one armed hug. She pulled away smiling before running to the silver Chevrolet, Tom-Tom still in her arms. She ran he hand across every length of it.

"How did you guys do it?" she asked turning back to them.

"Your father was the one who made the connections, I just dropped it off." Mai's uncle said.

"Oh thank you father!" she exclaimed before getting inside of the car. The car had a nice feel to it and it had grey leather seats.

"This car is awesome isn't it Tom-Tom?" Mai asked her brother who was now sitting on her lap.

He smiled at her and said "Yeah!"

In all her excitement, Mai did not notice what was in the front seat, but when she did, she took it by the hanger and looked at it with distaste. Mai got out of the car with one hand holding Tom-Tom's hand and one hand holding something that looked like a uniform.

"What is this?" she asked walking up to the two men. Mai's father spoke up first.

"That is what you're required to where to your new school tomorrow." He said blankly.

"It's a private school?" Mai asked quietly.

"Yes you'll be attending 'The Four Elements High School', I've made some connections with the school principal and you'll be expected there tomorrow."

"Just like that," Mai asked

"Just like that," Her father said.

* * *

And '_just like that_' it was. Mai was up and ready by 7 o'clock. Mai had to admit, the uniform made it quicker for her to get ready, but it was so heavy and it made her feel a little clammy. Mai looked at herself, she didn't look bad, but she felt ridiculous. She was dressed in a white blouse, a khaki skirt, a black blazer, knee high socks, and black mary-jane shoes. To top it off she had a red tie around her neck. What kind of school was her father making her go to? _At least I still have my car. _Mai thought. Suddenly she heard her cell phone ringing. The dark haired girl smiled when she saw it was Ty Lee calling.

"I have so much to tell you." Mai said after picking up her phone

"_Wonderful because the curiosity is killing me!" _was Ty Lee's bubbly response

"The house is gorgeous and so is the pool."

Mai heard Ty Lee gasp "_You lucky gal, you!"_

Mai giggled and knowing Ty Lee would bust her ear drums, she said "I got a car"

Mai was right; Ty Lee's high pitched scream forced her to pull the phone away from her ear. '_Oh Ty, you are always getting excited about everything.' _ Mai thought.

"_What kind?" _

"2012 Chevrolet Cruze- Silver" Mai said trying her best not to squeal. Ty Lee, on the other hand, had no problem squealing. Squealing was her specialty.

"_I told you the move couldn't be that bad!"_

"You didn't let me finish," Mai said feeling her mood turn sour "My dad is making me go to private school."

"_You went to a private school here." _

"A private school with uniform"

"_Ugh!" _Mai heard her friend groan in disgust. "_Wait is it the minor uniform with just a polo and a skirt or the full blown prestigious kind?"_

Mai rolled her eyes as she looked down at her uniform "The prestigious kind with a blouse, blazer, and tie."

"_A tie too? Oh Mai that is awful!" _Ty Lee cried "_At least you still have your car." _

"I guess" Mai sighed before realizing she was about to be late. "I have to go or else I'll be late."

"_Okay, but call me to tell me how it went." _

The friends said their good-bye's before Mai hung up. She thought about what would be happening in her actual home. She and Ty Lee would probably be at the bus stop talking or writing songs together then Jet would come along and kiss her- wait a minute, she and Jet were over. Mai shook all the home-sickly thoughts out of her head and rushed downstairs.

* * *

The school looked clean and well-groomed as did all the students. It was school for rich kids and Mai, being a rich kid didn't feel so out of place, especially because most of the people were dressed the same. Mai _did_ see some people dressed in cheer uniforms. '_Maybe if I joined the cheer team I can get out of this heavy uniform.' _Mai took another look at the cheer outfits before noticing that is was way too skimpy for her liking. '_Never mind' _Mai walked further into the school while ignoring the stares people were giving her. '_Great, one of those types of schools…' _Mai thought bitterly. Being a person with good intuition, Mai had no trouble finding the main office in such a large school and she would have been able to make it to her first class in a snap if only the secretary hadn't taken so long to print out her schedule. Mai heard the first bell ring and rolled her eyes as she watched everyone getting to their classes while she just waited for this woman to work the copy machine. '_Is it her first day too?' _Mai thought sarcastically. If there was anything Mai hated the worst in this world it was being late…to anything… even bedtime. After what felt like a whole twenty minutes, the woman finally walked over to Mai and handed her the sheet of paper.

"Sorry I took so long, it's my first day here too." The woman said with a sheepish smile. Mai blushed as she mentally kicked herself for the callous comment she'd made before.

"It's okay" she said meekly before turning around and hurrying out of the office. When Mai was halfway to her first period she suddenly realized that she forgot to get a pass. She rolled her eyes at her own stupidity. '_Oh well, I'll just say I got lost' _

When Mai walked into her class room she felt everyone's attention on her accept the only person who wasn't aware of her presence was the teacher and she was supposed to be the only one minded her. Mai ignored all of the curious eyes on her and cleared her throat. The teacher finally looked up from the board and turned to Mai.

"And who might you be?" she asked walking towards the new student.

"I'm Mai," the younger girl said as she handed her teacher the schedule. The woman took the sheet and observed it before handing it back to Mai.

"Well Mai, I'm your teacher Mrs. Khan, you may call me Mrs. Khan"

"Ooookaaaay" Mai said eying her teacher oddly.

"Take a seat anywhere you like, but choose wisely because you'll be stuck there for the rest of the year." Mrs. Khan said while going back to her teaching perfectly aware of the fact no one would be paying attention to the lesson after this. Mai sighed and even though some of the guys in the class room were trying to coax her into sitting next to them, her intuition told her to sit next to a boy who had his head down and appeared to be sleeping, if he was sleeping he wouldn't be staring at her and asking her questions all period.

"Okay class open up to page 239 in your textbooks and follow along with me." Mrs. Khan said "Oh, and Mai, try to keep up with us, okay?"

Mai almost laughed at her teacher's words; in fact if Mai wasn't the type to respect her elders, she would have walked right up there and started teaching the class herself. It was a civics class and Mai knew everything about government, considering the fact that her father _was_ a politician, and the section Mrs. Khan was 'teaching', Mai knew it like the back of her hand. Mai smirked and thought about how amusing the period would be for her.

* * *

Mai's next period was study hall, so she'd just decided to spend it in the library. So here she was sitting on one of the cushioned library chairs writing some lyrics down. The library was basically empty there were a couple of students there, but that was it, and luckily for Mai they were too busy studying to look at her and ask questions. Mai continued to do her homework in silence until she heard someone say in a cheery voice

"Hi there!"

Mai looked up from her sheet of paper to see a boy wearing a friendly smile. He looked a little too young to be attending a high school and he had blue arrows on his head instead of hair. Mai would have thought he had cancer if it weren't for the pure and healthy essence his face had.

"You must be the new girl, I'm Aang." he said holding out his hand to her.

Mai took his hand and shook it. Aang sat down across from her. "I hope you don't mind me sitting here." he said.

Mai shook her head "I don't mind at all; I'm Mai by the way."

"Nice name, are you a fire bender?" he asked noticing her appearance.

"I wish," Mai scoffed "My father and brother are, but I missed out on the trait."

Aang gave her an apologetic look "Well I'm an air bender, the only one in the world actually."

Mai looked at him with a half impressed half blank look. "Cool," was all she said before focusing on song. The two stayed quiet until Mai's curiosity got the best of her.

"I don't want to be rude or anything, but aren't you a little too young to be attending this school?" Mai thought her choice of words were a little indecorous and she'd expected Aang to be offended, but he just smiled at her and answered.

"I skipped a couple times and now I'm in the 9th grade, I try not to brag about it." he said.

"Hmm," Mai said nodding her head "Well I must admit Aang you are one cool braniac, how old are you anyway?"

"I'll be 13 in a few months." he said in a cheery tone. Mai wondered if he was always going to be this cheerful. She wouldn't really mind, she needed _some_ optimism in her life.

"Tell me something, Aang," Mai said smoothing out her skirt "Is it normal around here for everyone to stare at the new kid?"

"Well, yeah, but by the end of the week the stares will die down, so don't sweat it."

Mai hoped he was right because she was already upset about the move she didn't need people staring at her and starting rumors. Mai shrugged and continued to write her song. Anyone who's known Mai for a short period time wouldn't believe this, but Mai sang, sometimes. It's not like she wanted to become a famous singer or anything, it was just a type of stress reliever for Mai. Sometimes she'd vent her feelings into a form of poetry and turn into a song. Writing down the words made her relax and adding a beat to it made her feel happy. The only people who knew about Mai's stress reliever were Ty Lee and Jet, and maybe Tom-Tom considering the fact that she'd sing him lullabies from time to time.

"Hey what are you writing?" Aang asked interrupting her flow. Before Mai could answer, he took the sheet of paper and began to read it. A minute went by before Aang looked up at her and said "That was kind of sour, where did you find all the anger to write _this_?"

Mai blushed in embarrassment, now this boy probably thought she was some angry psycho. Mai decided to come clean so he wouldn't get the wrong impression of her.

"My ex-boyfriend, Jet…he cheated on me." Mai admitted shyly. She wasn't used to talking to strangers about her relationship problems. When Aang didn't answer Mai covered her face with her hands in embarrassment "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have told you that I was just-"

Mai cut herself off when she felt scrawny arms around her. Mai was shocked; she didn't even hear him get out of his seat and now he was hugging her up out of no where.

"I am so sorry, Mai." Aang said letting go of her and going back to his seat.

"I-it's okay, I'm over it." Mai said. It was the truth, in fact right after writing down those feelings she'd had bottled up, Mai felt better.

"Well good because a nice girl like you shouldn't be hung up on some two-timing loser." Aang said reassuringly. Mai couldn't help, but smile at the young boy. He was so adorable; he had to have a lot of friends.

"AANG!"

Mai looked toward the library entrance to see a little girl who looked about Aang's age walking toward them. The librarian glowered at her and hushed her which made the girl glower back and keep walking.

"I knew I'd find you in here, twinkle toes." the girl said as she sat down in the chair next to Aang. Mai felt confusion all over again. Why was this girl attending the school? Did she skip along with Aang? Suddenly Mai noticed that the girl's eyes were clouded, she was blind. Mai has never met a blind person before and she was feeling kind of nervous because she didn't know how to present herself to a blind person. She looked over at Mai and then back at Aang.

"Who is she and why is she so nervous?" The girl asked. '_What?' _Mai thought. Did she look nervous? Wait, even if she did, how would this girl be able to tell?

"Toph this Mai, and Mai this is Toph." Aang said. "Mai is the new student."

Toph turned towards Mai, almost convincing Mai that she could see her. "A new girl, huh?"

"Yes I just got here yesterday." Mai said in her usual monotone voice.

"And how do you like it?" Toph asked

"Eh, it could be better." Mai said.

"Yeah this school really is a bore sometimes. That's why I'm only here for half of the day."

"Half of the day?" Mai asked the little girl.

"Yeah, Toph is at a higher level math and science class so she comes here to take the courses." Aang explained

"And for the rest of the day I go back to the junior high, leaving Aang all by himself." Toph said in fake pouty voice. Aang just rolled his eyes.

"But of course he's too busy drooling all over Katara all day to even notice I'm gone." Toph said making Aang blush.

"Who's Katara?" Mai asked eyeing Aang with a sudden interest.

"Only the most beautiful girl on the planet." Aang said dreamily while resting his chin on his palm. Toph rolled her eyes.

"Not to forget the most annoying, she is always walking around putting up this 'perfect' act."

"She _is_ perfect." Aang said. Toph just rolled her eyes. "The only problem is that she doesn't even know I exist."

Mai saw Toph roll her eyes again and she suddenly visualized them getting together in a few years when Aang finally realizes that this Katara girl will never like him.

"I am so sick of you moping about that snob." Toph snapped. The blind girl got out of her seat and stormed off angrily. Then Mai was positive that Toph was jealous of the way Aang thought about this girl.

"I wonder what her problem is." Aang said in huff. Mai debated on whether she should tell Aang or not, she'd decided against it. It was probably best for him to figure it out himself.

"Just forget about it for now." Mai said waving her hand dismissively.

"Toph always hated Katara." Aang said "She doesn't even know her."

"And you do?" Mai asked.

"Well…" Aang drawled. He didn't know much about Katara considering the fact that she never spoke to him except during cooking. All he knew was that Katara was the most beautiful and talented girl he's ever laid eyes on. "She isn't a bad person, I can tell you that."

"Well I don't know her so I'm not going to argue or agree." Mai said.

"Did you meet anyone else besides me today?" Aang asked changing the subject. It was a drastic subject change, but Mai barely even paid attention to it.

"No it's just you and that Toph girl." Mai said blankly.

"Really," Aang said "Well it seems like I'm your first friend here."

"Friend?" Mai said eyeing the 12 year old. She wasn't expecting him to refer to her as a friend, but she should have. The kid was obviously the type to befriend any old stranger. Mai wasn't going to say that they weren't friends; he was nice to her after all.

"I guess so." the hazel eyed girl said shrugging.

**I know this chapter kind of sucked, but it's basically an insight on what is going on. I promise that the next chapter will be better and more interesting. I made Republic city a pre existing place because it kind of fit into the context, you know where everyone from different tribes and nations come together in this oneschool called the Four Elements. Please review and tell me what you think. Again I promise the story will get better. **


	2. Chapter 2

"See ya later, Mai!" Aang said as he began walking away. Mai just gave the boy slight wave and walked in the opposite direction, being careful not to bump into anyone. According to Mai's schedule she had pre-calculus next. Mai rolled her eyes. Why couldn't they have put her in an afternoon math class, Mai hated taking math in the mornings. The ebony haired girl huffed and continued walking. When Mai walked around the corner she did not expect to feel something hard come in contact with the side of her face, so she slightly stumbled backwards. She would have fallen if she had not caught herself. Mai saw that she'd bumped into someone's chest and when she looked up to see who the chest belonged too, she saw a guy looking at her blankly obviously waiting for an apology, but when Mai was about to speak, she noticed an angry looking scar on the left side of his face. The scar looked terrible and gruesome. The guy was undoubtedly handsome, but the scar just made Mai shiver slightly. She couldn't even imagine where it came from. Mai was so focused on the scar, she didn't notice the young man's face turn into a stone cold glare.

"WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?!" The young man barked.

Mai's turned her attention away from his scar. Her face was red from embarrassment, but this guy's face was red with embarrassment and anger. Mai would have bet a million dollars that he would have exploded right there on the spot.

"N-nothing." Mai said while secretly kicking herself for faltering.

"Is my scar too gross for you?" he snapped. Mai stayed quiet. The young man opened his mouth to yell some more, but then he noticed all the people looking at them.

"DON'T YOU PEOPLE HAVE SOME PLACE TO BE?!" He barked. Without hesitation, all of the students continued on to their classes. The young man turned back to Mai.

"Look, I don't know who you are, but if you _ever_-"

"Zuko," a harsh, but feminine voice cut him off. Mai turned around to see a girl who looked slightly like this man yelling at her and was wearing a cheerleading uniform. The guy walked over to her and started to mumble some things that Mai couldn't' comprehend. The girl mumbled back, but she was pointing a finger to his chest. The young man huffed in frustration and sent a death glare Mai's way before storming off. The girl just smirked at Mai for brief moment before walking away.

_'What just happened?" _Mai asked herself.

* * *

Azula strut into her literature class room proudly and made her way to her seat, but before she could get there one of her cheerleading peers popped up in front of her, Katara to be specific. Azula glared at the blue-eyed girl and crossed her arms.

"Can I help you?" the fire princess asked rudely.

"Azula, I have to talk to you about something really important." The water bender said.

"Well make it quick." Azula snapped "And it better not be about changing the half-time routine."

"I don't see why not." Katara said

"The half-time routine is perfect the way it is."

"But there are too many dangerous stunts." Katara complained

"It is nothing we haven't done before, and doesn't make any difference if it's all in one routine!" the fire princess said getting frustrated quickly.

"But-"

"No more 'buts' the routine will stay the same and that is final, I am the captain not you!" Azula yelled.

Katara glared at the fire princess, frustrated with her stubbornness "If you haven't noticed, Azula, the team is getting annoyed with your bitchy attitude and tyranny, and when we get rid of you, _I'll _be happy to take your place."

Azula smirked deviously before grabbing Katara's forearm harshly "Look, _I _am not going anywhere, and I sure as hell won't be replaced by an annoying bitch that is on a scholarship. Got it?"

Katara yanked her arm away before giving Azula death stare and walking away. Azula huffed, boy was she angry. Azula knew she was a bitch to everyone, but she was respected and that is all she needed. Besides if there was one person who Azula hated, it was Katara. The water bender walked around like she was so perfect and innocent, but Azula just thought she was a whiny attention-hog. Azula angrily placed herself in her seat. _'One of these days I am going to put that peasant in her place.'_ Azula thought.

* * *

Toph walked through the class room making her way over to her seat, but came to a sudden stop when she felt someone sitting in her seat. They smelt like apple cinnamon and Toph could feel their nervousness.

"Mai, what are you doing in my seat?" Toph said

"How did you know it was me?" The girl asked scooting over to the next seat. Toph sat down and sighed.

"Everybody knows that no one sits in this seat, but me. Only a newbie would make that mistake, but since I'm familiar with you I'd let it slide. Why are you so nervous?"

"I'm not nervous…" Mai muttered. Toph gave her a look causing Mai to let out a sigh.

"Fine," she said "I think I got someone to hate me already."

Toph looked at her with amusement "Was it Azula, the queen bee of the school?" the blind girl asked teasingly.

Mai glared at her "_No_, It was this guy with a nasty scar on his eye. We bumped into each other in the hallway…and…I may have stared at it for a few seconds, but then he went completely psycho on me."

"Ah, you must be talking about Azula's brother, Zuko, _Prince _Zuko to be exact." Toph said.

"_That _was the fire prince?!" Mai asked incredulously,

Toph nodded. When did she become the one to inform the new girl on everything? Couldn't Aang do it? He'd found her first. "He got his scar about a year ago, but that is beside the point. You really shouldn't have stared at his scar."

Mai scoffed "How was I supposed to know he took his scar personally?" She asked defensively

"Who wouldn't take that scar personally? Oh well, at least you didn't ask him where he got it." Toph said

Mai raised her eyebrows pondering for a brief second on what Toph had just said "And what would happen if I did _that_?"

"Then you wouldn't be here talking to me right now, instead your ashes would be getting swept up by the custodian." Toph said while chuckling at the thought.

"Would he really do that?" Mai asked in bewilderment

"Yep," Toph said "He and his sister are messed up in their own ways; he's a hot-head and she's a bitch. I blame the parents."

A sudden thought occurred to Mai which pushed her to ask "How did he get that scar anyway?"

Toph shrugged "A lot of people think he got into a fight, but I refuse to give in to gossip."

"You're gossiping right now." Mai pointed out.

Toph sent the hazel-eyed girl a death glare before answering sharply "_No,_ you're asking questions, way too many to be exact, and I'm answering them."

Mai who was a little taken back by the young girl's tone just shrugged and opened her book, but there was one question that Mai really wanted to ask.

"Hey Toph, is Azula a cheerleader?" she asked.

"Yes," Toph said bluntly while not taking her gaze off of the text book in front of her. Well at least Mai figured out who the girl in the hallway was.

* * *

The day was finally over and students were hurriedly exiting the building in order to go home and sleep. Azula on the other hand, waited impatiently for her brother in the lobby. Azula knew that she should be used to her brother's constant tardiness, but she was a princess; she didn't like to be kept waiting. Maybe if she'd passed her drivers test she'd be able to drive herself home. As Azula scanned the front of the school hoping to find Zuko, her eyes landed on the new girl, the one that her brother was about roast if it had not been for her. Azula still couldn't believe she saved this girl; normally Azula loved seeing her brother in a fight. _'Why am I so nice?'_ Azula thought to herself before walking over to the girl.

"Hello," Azula said as she reached the girl. The girl looked at her blankly before murmuring _'Hey'_. Azula held back the urge to roll her eyes. Boy, did the shy ones annoy her. Instead of showing her irritation, Azula simply gave the girl a small smile.

"My name is Azula,"

"I'm Mai" She continued to look at Azula blankly. She looked like she was trying to decide on something. As if reading Mai's mind, Azula said,

"I'm sure you've heard about me."

Mai looked confused "I'm sorry?" she said.

"My rep, I'm sure people have told you about how much of bitch I am." Azula said as she leaned on the hood of Mai's car and rested her chin on her palm.

Mai almost scoffed "So now you're about to tell me that they're not true?" Mai said with her arms crossed and her tone dripping with sarcasm. Azula simply shrugged.

"Well I _did_ save you from getting torched by my brother," she said tauntingly, knowing that would rile Mai up a little "But no, you heard correct."

Mai just looked at her shocked by her honesty. When Mai said nothing Azula continued.

"I'm cheer captain and I'm the most powerful fire bender in the world…well next to my father of course. My brother and I are the most feared people in this school and every girl either hates me because I'm treacherous or is jealous of me because I have everything."

"You know you're quite honest for a mean girl." Mai stated

"Who ever told you that mean girls can't be honest?" Azula asked.

Suddenly the two heard the girls heard Azula's named being called. They turned to see Zuko motioning for his sister to hurry up, but when he saw Mai, he stopped waving and glared causing Mai to look away and Azula to chuckle.

"I guess I'll see you around, Mai." Azula said before walking towards her brother's car. Mai took one last glance at the princess before sighing. Azula had the words _Spoiled Brat_ written all over her, but she couldn't bring herself to hate yet alone dislike like the princess. She actually kind of liked Azula, maybe it was because she admired the princess's strength or sensibility or maybe because she'd saved Mai from getting torched by her hot-headed brother.

"Hi Mai!" a high voice behind her said. Mai didn't need to be a genius to know that it was Aang, so besides turning around, Mai simply said 'Hey'

"Were you just talking to Azula?" Aang asked.

"Yeah," Mai said turning around. She noticed the slightly concerned look on the kid's face "She didn't say anything bad though."

Aang's face softened "Toph told me what with you in the hallway and I wanted to know if you were okay."

Mai smiled at the young boy's sweetness. If only all guys were like him. "I'm okay, he didn't scare me." she lied.

"That's good to hear; well I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Aang said turning to walk away.

"Wait!" Mai exclaimed "How are you getting home?"

"I'm walking."

Mai shook her head. She wasn't going to let Aang walk home by himself besides, it looked like it was about to pour. "Get in, I'm dropping you."

Not waiting for an answer, Mai got into the drivers seat of her car. Aang just shrugged and followed her suit.

* * *

"Do you mind telling me what that was all about?" Zuko asked his sister while still keeping his eyes on the road.

"What are speaking of exactly?" Azula asked while keeping her eyes on her manicured finger nails.

"Why were you talking the new girl? You hate new students."

Azula rolled her eyes at her brother's curiosity. She hated that Zuko wanted the explanation to _everything_. "Don't worry, Zuzu, I wasn't harassing her like you were doing in the hallway." the princess said smartly.

"I wasn't harassing her," Zuko snapped "I was just _talking_ to her."

"Whatever," Azula said bluntly. She was always aware that her brother's version of _just talking _to someone was completely different than everyone else's.

The car stopped at the palace gate. "To think she actually had the nerve to stare at my scar." Zuko mumbled angrily.

"She didn't know, Zuko." Azula said "I'm sure she didn't mean to hurt your feelings."

"But you didn't see the way she looked at me; she looked at me like I was a monster!" the fire prince exclaimed "Why are you even defending her?"

By this time the gate was open and Zuko was searching for his parking spot.

"I'm just saying that you shouldn't blow things like this out of proportion. Everyone already thinks you're a monster."

Zuko silently parked the car, but his sister's words struck him a little bit. The two got out of the car and Zuko finally found the voice to say

"I don't care what people think about me." and with that he simply walked to the front door and opened it. The two stepped into the castle and was greeted by the beautiful scenery, but instead of gawking at it, they simply ignored it as they always did.

"You used to, everyone used to respect you Zuko, now they just fear you."

"They fear you too!" Zuko retorted "Look this whole conversation is stupid; I'm going to my room."

And with that, the bitter fire prince climbed up the huge set of stairs not caring that his sister was rolling her eyes behind him. As soon as Zuko was out of sight, Azula walked further into the palace looking for something to do. Being a princess was so boring, especially if you have no friends to cause mischief with only to have them take the blame later. Azula realized she was still in her cheer uniform so she walked up the second set of stairs to change into something more appropriate. When Azula stepped into her room she fought the urge not to collapse on the bed and fall asleep, knowing that her brother wouldn't wake her up for dinner. Dinner was usually the two of them because their father was either having a political dinner with someone else, eating in his office, or on some type of trip. It was always like that; well it was after their mother left. She had grown sick and tired their father, so she left. She'd informed them that she was currently living in Fire Fountain city and she'd re married some man who Azula couldn't care less about. Their mother had left a note for Zuko, only _Zuko_ before she'd left. Azula remembered the note vividly because it was the first time Azula ever felt devastation, betrayal, anger, and love at the same time. The letter was not too long; it went a little something like this:

_My dearest child, _

_I want for you so much to know that this is not your fault. You may be too young to understand this, but I have fallen out of love with your father. It is for my own purposes and it shouldn't become yours. I know that deep down in your father's heart that he loves you. I can promise you that I will be okay, but I want you stay strong. You are the heir to the throne. It hurts me to know that I won't be there to see you grow up and become a man, but I promise I'll always be with you in the place that matters most. I hope you live a long happy life and remember: I love you._

_~Mother_

At the time Zuko and Azula hated each other to death, so it wasn't a surprise that Zuko had hidden the note from her for safe keeping, but one day Azula snuck into her brother's in room with a goal to put a frog under his pillow, but she found the letter under his pillow instead. Azula didn't know why she didn't run to her father's office and complain, but she just stayed in her brother's bedroom and cried, that is until he found her. Instead of screaming at her to get out like Azula had expected, he simply took the note out her hand and hugged her until she stopped crying. The young princess eventually stopped crying and that was when she and Zuko made a truce. Now that their mother was gone, they had no one else but each other. They had no friends, considering the fact that they were the most hated people in their school. The closest person Azula ever came close to liking was Mai, even though they'd just met, but Azula didn't dislike her. If only Zuko felt the same way. Azula changed into more appropriate clothing before leaving her room to cause mischief around the palace. What can she say? She's bored.

* * *

Mai walked into her house expecting to find her mother in the kitchen making dinner, but instead she saw a women sitting on her couch with a younger women who looked about her age. They looked similar, short brown hair and pale skin. The older women wore a jade green dress and black heels while her teenage daughter wore a swamp green blouse, khaki pants, and flats. The two simply stared at Mai and she stared back which created an awkward silence in the room. Luckily for Mai, the silence was broken when Tom- Tom came bursting in the room.

"Mai! Mai!" the two year old screamed in excitement as he jumped into Mai's arms. She gave him a small smile as she ruffled his dark hair. Mai noticed that her mother had walked into the room holding a tray of appetizers.

"Tom-Tom, what did I tell you about screaming in the house?" she scolded. "Mai, I'd like you to meet our neighbors; Kenai and her daughter, Suki."

The two stood up and extended their hands. Mai put Tom-Tom down and shook hands with the two women.

"Akira, your daughter is beautiful, you didn't tell me she went to the Four Elements." Kenai said eyeing Mai's badge.

"It must have slipped my mind." Her mother said with a laugh "Mai, Suki goes to the Four Seasons as well; she is very popular."

Mai noticed Suki blush for a second. The brunette cleared her throat and smiled "It's very nice to meet you Mai."

By this time Mai has put on her doting, perfect daughter act and smiled back "It's nice to meet you too, Suki."

For two hours straight, the mothers went back and forth talking about housewife things while Mai and Suki stayed silent. Mai wasn't going to try to make conversation with Suki, she hated senseless chatter. Mai looked at her phone to see the time. It was almost dinner and Mai could tell that her mother wasn't going to say _'Okay, have a nice night'_ any time soon. The women could talk and talk until you feel as if you want to kill yourself. Another hour had passed by and finally Mai's mother realized she needed to get started on dinner.

"Would you like to join us?" she asked. Suki's mother looked as if she were thinking about it while Suki had a look of pure nervousness plastered on her face as did Mai. Mother's would do anything to keep talking wouldn't they?

"No, I have to get started on dinner also, but I'll call you." Suki's mother said. Mai and Suki let out a sigh of relief.

Dinner was quiet, as usual and Mai wouldn't have wanted it any other way. As soon as dinner was over, Mai had called Ty Lee telling her all about Aang, Toph, Zuko, and Azula. All of the information left Ty Lee speechless for a second, but she got over it and gave Mai tons of options on how to take care of Zuko. She also told Mai not to replace her with Aang and so on. For some odd reason, Mai was kind of excited to go back to school the next day. She just wanted to know what interesting thing would happen.


	3. Chapter 3

Azula was so surprised at how the rest of the week turned out. It seemed that everyone dropped whole Mai subject and went back to doing what they were doing before she had even arrived. When Azula got suspicious, she went around snooping for answers. She'd come around two quacking ducks in the bathroom who were so eager to tell her how charming and friendly and funny Mai was. Azula knew they could not be talking about the plain emotionless girl she'd spoken to four days ago. Maybe Azula passed her judgment on Mai way too quickly; she had a habit of doing that. As Azula took her books out of her locker she couldn't help but wonder if Mai had any interactions with Zuko since that first day. She snapped out of her thoughts when she felt a pair of muscular arms snake their way around her waist and a chin rest on her shoulder. The way the person smelt like fresh rain made it easy for Azula to identify who it was. Azula leaned into the person before saying.

"Don't you let me go."

"What if I do?" the person said loosening his grip on his waste.

Azula turned and wrapped her arms around his neck "You know you don't want to, Sokka." The princess said teasingly. She took a second to take him in and smiled at what she saw, as always He wore the standard uniform except his jacket was off and the sleeves of his shirt were rolled up. He also wasn't wearing a tie. Azula took the courtesy of running her hands along his shoulders until she realized something.

"Do you care to explain to me why you haven't called me in 3 days?" Azula said angrily. Sokka blushed hoping she wouldn't remember.

"I'm sorry, but Suki picked up this habit where she goes through my phone every day." That was a lame excuse, but it was true.

Sokka gulped as he saw a glare plastered on Azula's face then he realized his mistake. Why had he said her name?

"What did I tell you about saying _her_ name around me?" Azula glowered. Sokka grabbed Azula by her shoulders and pulled her into him.

"I know, I know," Sokka said. Azula sighed.

"I guess I should understand," she said "She is your…girlfriend."

This was their relationship. The two have been carrying this little scandal for about a month now and they couldn't even imagine what would happen if word got out about them. Katara would sure enough give the both of them more hell than anyone else in the school could. Suki would probably ruin Sokka's high school life and Zuko would literally kill Sokka. They couldn't do it. Anyone who knew Azula knew that she wouldn't give two shits if anyone talked about her love life, but Azula still had feelings, so if someone were to come up to her and call her a 'man-stealing whore' she'd burn them then go to the bathroom and cry a little. Still Azula and Sokka loved each other no matter what anyone said. They understand each other and are always honest with one another. They both know what it's like to lose a mother, look after a sibling, and deal with pretentious teammates.

"In order to make it up to you, you and I can go somewhere after the game and we can stay out as long as we want." Sokka said while wiggling his eyebrows in a playful manner. Azula grinned at him.

"Well I can't say no to that." She said "Meet me behind the school after you finish changing."

Sokka agreed before planting a sweet gentle kiss on her lips and heading back to class while Azula just watched him and smiled.

* * *

Mai sat quietly as her literature teacher was giving his directions. Mai was satisfied with herself; she was well-liked by almost everyone in the school. Although she was never used to having people like her and hang out with her, she loved the fact that she can just be herself with these people. They liked her for her, not because she was the buzz of the week. Still the only people she sat with were Aang and Toph, but that was because she was more comfortable around them. There was always something about kids that Mai liked, you can trust them. She was moping for nothing, the only down part of her week was when she ran into Zuko. Speak of the devil, Zuko had just walked through the door of the classroom causing Mai to pull out her book and pretend to be reading it while she looked at Zuko. He didn't seem to notice her; he didn't make eye contact with anyone. He simply sat in his seat all the way in the back of the room. Mai tapped a guy next to her on the shoulder causing him to turn to his attention to her.

"Since when was Prince Zuko in this class?" she asked

The guy gave her small smile the chuckled to himself. Mai gave him a weird look, she was about to say something before that guy started to speak. "He's always been in this class, but he only sits all the way in the back and keeps his mouth shut. The dude is like a ninja."

Mai agreed with the guy, she hadn't even noticed Zuko on the first, second, third, and fourth day. Mai didn't like that feeling, she was always so aware. She had to be extra aware when it came to the young fire prince, one minute he's calm and harmless the next minute he's like volcano. Mai turned around and looked at him. He was as quiet as church mouse. Zuko had caught Mai staring and sent her a glare so mean Mai turned around instantly. Yup, a total lunatic, that Zuko.

* * *

"KNOCK EM' DOWN, TURN EM' AROUND, C'MON DEFENSE WORK!"

Mai sat quietly on the bleachers holding two sodas while watching her school's football team get their asses handed to them. It was before half time and two guys were already out. Mai couldn't help, but flinch as number 32 was tackled brutally by two of the players on the other team. Goodbye player 32 and hello player 19. Mai looked at the scoreboard as Toph sat down next to her.

"What's the score?" Toph asked handing Mai a bag of Doritos.

"14 to none," Mai said dully "Why did you want me to come here again?"

"Now that you're part of the group you get have the joy of watching Aang in the marching band." Toph said sarcastically

Mai didn't reply, in fact she just took a big gulp of her soda and continued to watch the game.

Suddenly Mai's eyes landed on a certain fire prince leaning on a set of bleachers watching the game intently. His face was unreadable, well at least from where Mai was sitting. Toph who had noticed Mai's staring rolled her eyes.

"Seriously Mai, he's not going to bomb the school." she said irritably

"I know,"

"Then why must you constantly stare at him?"

Mai didn't know how to answer. She didn't even know why she kept staring at him herself. She knew that a part of her wanted to talk to him and see what the hell was wrong with him, but that would get her killed. He sparked her curiosity in so many ways Mai never thought possible. Where did the scar come from? Why is he so angry? How does he act at home? Mai sighed before focusing her attention on the game. It was a good chance that she'd never know the answer to any of those questions. To Mai's surprise, it was already halftime and the marching band had already taken their positions on the field ready to play. Mai saw Aang it the front of the line and waved at him causing him to smile and wave back before he began to play along with the band. Mai couldn't help but cringe at every tune. Why were they so loud? She couldn't bear it. So instead, she quickly ran off the bleachers while Aang wasn't looking and walked as far as she could from all the noise. Mai didn't know where she was going for a minute, but she soon figured it out when she saw the flag pole of her school in front of her. She'd walked all the way back to the front of the school and she could still hear the band playing. Suddenly Mai regretted leaving everybody. She felt really strange by herself in a place she barely knew with nobody around. Mai froze and focused her senses when she heard a faint giggle. It was coming closer and Mai could have sworn she heard a chuckle along with it. The laughs kept coming closer and to Mai's surprise, Azula popped out of nowhere with some guy dressed in a football uniform. Mai dropped down and hid behind a bush so they wouldn't see her. The two weren't close enough to hear her, but they would have seen her if she was standing up. Azula was dressed in her cheer uniform, her hair was pulled back into a ponytail that was held up by some red sparkly bow. The two looked like opposites in physical appearances. Azula had brown eyes while this guy's eyes matched the dimmed blue color of the sky. Azula had black hair and he had pale light brown hair. Azula was a firebender and according to his looks, the guy's element was definitely water. Azula had soft looking skin while his skin looks like he's been playing outside too much. Azula was short and he seemed to stand over her like a big oak tree. Mai stared at the too shocked. Did everyone else in school know about this? Mai watched as the two stood there holding each other lovingly. Mai smiled at how cute they were. They looked like they were in a movie, that is until Azula's lips claims his in a hot and urgent manner only urging the guy to push her down on the bench and kiss her back with just as much fervor. Mai suddenly felt uncomfortable. How did she look squatting behind a bush watching two people make out in the distance? Can anyone say creeper? She had to get out of there, but how? The only option was to make a quick run for it. They were so tangled up in each other, literally, it wouldn't be that hard. Mai easily got up from her uncompromising position and power walked far away from the inappropriate scene that took place in front of her.

* * *

When Mai got back to the football field the band was finishing their little number and Toph was waiting for her with an expectant look on her face.

"Where did you go?" the little girl said "You had to stay through the whole number no matter how ear bursting it is."

"I had to use the bathroom." Mai lied.

"My butt, the bathroom is this way you went that way." Toph said pointing from right to left.

Mai looked at Toph in pure astonishment "How on earth..."

"I felt your footsteps." Toph said nonchalantly

"Out of everyone else's?"

"Everyone has distinctive footing and the ones that are unknown to are from the people I haven't met yet." Toph explained

"Amazing..." Mai whispered. This made Toph smirk.

"So are you going to tell me where you were?" She asked still smirking.

"No,"

Mai's eyes wandered to the other set of bleachers to see if Zuko was still there, but he wasn't.

* * *

Sokka sat patiently in his car waiting for Azula. He was all the way down the street from his school where she said she'd meet him. He didn't like the idea of his princess walking all the way down a lengthy street, but they couldn't be spotted by any of their peers. Sokka smirked when he thought of the little stunt he and Azula pulled during halftime. He had just finished using the bathroom when Azula ambushed him and kissed him full on the lips. She told him how attractive she thought it was when he'd tackled the other team's quarterback. They rushed to the front of the school where no one would be to make out, but the couldn't help but get the feeling that someone else was their. It had took Sokka a while to convince himself and Azula that it was just nothing. Sokka was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard his phone ring. Thinking it was Azula, he didn't bother to check the caller ID before answering.

"Where are you? I'm waiting for you right now."

"What?" a voice that was not Azula's said. Sokka's quickly removed the phone from his ear and threw a silent temper tantrum at his own stupidity.

"Hey Suki, I meant to say I was waiting for you to call." Sokka said nervously after calming down. He heard Suki giggle at the other end of the line.

"I left my stuff at your place the other day, i'm coming by to get it."

"I'm not going to be there," Sokka said a little too quickly. He silently cursed himself and added " The team and I are going to celebrate."

"You guys won?" Suki sounded utterly shocked.

"By two points, but yeah."

"Okay then, I'll just use the key under the mat."

"Kay, bye" Sokka said in a strained voice before hanging up.

Sokka put his head in his hands and groaned. There goes his plans to take Azula to his place. Sokka thought of all the possible places he could go. Dinner, movie, carriage ride. Cliché! Cliché! Cliché! Azula hated cliché's more than anything. What was he going to do? Before Sokka could make up his mind, his car door opened and in came Azula wearing a black pink and orange maxi dress. The princess leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"Sorry I took so long, the girls held me back." she said "So where are we going?"

Sokka shrugged and sighed before saying "Anywhere you want."

* * *

Sokka had regretted saying those three words. Apparently Azula took them a little too kindly. Her idea of a perfect date was buying laser guns and playing laser tag in the park, spray painting profanities on their most hated restaurant, and following police cars while turning on the siren app with their phone. Azula had to stifle her laughter when the police told them that they were creating a public disturbance and if they kept it up, they'd have to go downtown with him. Sokka almost crapped his pants. Sokka and Azula finished their date with a very exhilarating make-out session outside of her palace.

"Are you sure...that your... guards aren't... suspicious about...the...strange blue...car in the front?" Sokka asked between kisses.

" If they were suspicious they would have done something by now." Azula mumbled against his lips. Sokka didn't argue, instead he put his arms around her and pulled her closer. They continued to make out until they were both out of breath.

"I should probably go." Azula said quietly.

"Alright i'll see you tomorrow." Sokka replied. Azula kissed his cheek before opening the car door and stepping out. Azula waited till Sokka drove off before unlocking the front gate and taking the golf cart up the hill. Azula checked the time on her watch. 12:17. While most people would have said 'Shit! I'm so grounded', Azula simply shrugged knowing her father was away and her brother was sound asleep.

Azula entered the palace to see it was empty, all the maids have gone home and the guards were probably sleeping while they're supposed to be guarding the palace. They really needed knew help. The fire princess tip-toed up to her room, careful not to wake her brother. She opened the door to her room and quietly closed it before she let out a sigh of relief. When Azula turned on the light and let out a scream when she saw none other than Zuko sitting on the little seat by her windowsill in his pajamas. He was looking at her sullenly.

"Zuko..." Azula said. Zuko put his hand up, stopping her from saying anything else. The young prince got up and walked around with his hands behind his back.

"It's midnight." He stated calmly.

Azula simply nodded. As she eyed Zuko. Why was he so calm? What was he going to do next? Why was he in her room? And what lie was she going to think of to get herself out of this?

"I was at the victory party, we won you know." Azula lied.

"Yeah, I know, I was there"

Azula's eyes widened, but she said nothing. Zuko never went to games or other social events why did he start now?

"But I know the part ended hours when Ruon-Jian's parents came home early from their trip."

"Well yeah, but after that-"

"AZULA, I SAW YOU GET INTO THE CAR WITH THAT WATER PEASANT, DON'T LIE TO ME!" Zuko yelled angrily.

Azula was shocked. Zuko had already put two and two together. There was nothing she could say or do to get herself out of this.

"Fine" Azula said pouting. Suddenly a smile appeared on her face "I'm in love, isn't that great!"

The scowl remained on Zuko's face "Yes, and you hid it from me, that's just plain wonderful." he said sarcastically.

Azula sighed and sat on her bed. Things were silent until Zuko spoke up again.

"How long have you been with him?"

"About a month" Azula mumbled looking away from her brother. Zuko felt more anger start to rise in him. He curled his hands into fists, but quickly let go before he started yelling. He let out a deep breath and said coolly

"You are never to see him again, _ever_"

"BECAUSE I DIDN'T TELL YOU?!" Azula yelled incredulously.

"DON'T ARGUE WITH ME, AZULA!" Zuko yelled louder

"You can't stop me from seeing him, you're not my father." the spoiled princess said.

Zuko's eyes narrowed dangerously "Oh so you want to bring father into this? I can just imagine what he'll say."

Azula could imagine what he'd say too. She'd never be allowed to leave the palace ever again. He'd cut her off from the outside world and by the time she's 18 he'd marry her off to some old crusty suitor. Azula flinched at the thought.

"Zuko, I love him." Azula said.

"He has a girlfriend and you're letting him treat you like the other woman, I'm very surprised at you, Azula."

And with that, Zuko left. Leaving Azula to finally throw her temper tantrum.


End file.
